Service facilities, which require access to customer account data or which provide customer account data to incoming callers requesting such information typically have used operators to access and provide the requested data. In one example, a caller initiates the transaction by calling into the system, whereupon he may be placed on hold until an operator becomes available, resulting in time lost while remaining on hold. After an operator becomes available, the operator queries the incoming caller for the basic account identification information necessary to retrieve some or all of the customer file information. Again, more time is lost in the transaction with this preliminary exchange of information. Eventually, all necessary questions are posed and the desired information is available and communicated by the operator to the calling party. Having communicated the requested information, the transaction is terminated, and the operator is available for the next transaction.
Other data retrieval systems incorporate a computer voice response unit, which provides limited computer prompted queries and limited voice responses to the caller. Such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,911. In this system, the caller responds to the prompt queries by entering a selected number sequence on the DTMF (touchtone) keypad of the caller's telephone. However, as the computer voice response unit cannot be programmed to anticipate all questions, the menu of prompting questions provided to the caller and the overall efficiency of the unit is somewhat limited. For example, if the outside party requests to be transferred to an operator for additional help or information, the operator is, at most, only apprised of the calling party's name, account number and perhaps his or her telephone number. The operator is without knowledge as to the reason for the caller's transfer as well as the status of the information exchanged thus far between the outside party and the voice response unit.
Accordingly, merely combining a computer voice response unit and an operator-based data recovery system results in some redundant operations wherein the operator must typically repeat the inquiry previously posed by the computer voice response unit and previously answered by the calling party. Therefore, the resulting system combination provides only a limited improvement in service efficiency.
Another prior art voice response system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,164,981, which issued to the assignee of the present invention on Nov. 17, 1992 and which is incorporated herein by reference. The system provided in the '981 Patent provides rapid telephone access to customer data base information and provides efficient use of facility resources by initially connecting an outside party on a telephone apparatus to a data base through a computerized voice response unit providing digitized voice prompts, questions and other informational prompts to the outside party.
The outside party responds to the prompts by entering a selected sequence of numbers on the telephone touchtone keypad. For the majority of users, the system provides substantially all of the requested information. For information not referenced in the prerecorded computerized voice response queries or prompts or when the system detects that the outside party needs to be connected to an operator, either the outside party or the system itself may selectively transfer the call or transaction to a human operator to provide the remaining information. In addition to providing a transfer of voice signals from the computerized voice response unit to an operator, the system of the '981 Patent provides the operator with a list of information transacted thus far, as well as other information, such as calling party identity and account status. Thus, telephone database inquiries are handled with increased efficiency and speed by reducing the redundant operations by either the computerized voice response unit or the operator.
The voice response system 10 according to the '981 Patent is illustrated in FIG. 1, wherein an outside telephone apparatus 12, such as a touchtone telephone at the disposal of an outside party is connected by means of a voice telephone line 14 to voice path switch 16. Voice path switch 16 is typically a private branch exchange (PBX) or other similar apparatus adapted for scanning a number of telephone lines and upon detection of an incoming ringing signal on one of the telephone lines or the answering of a telephone in the case of an outgoing call, for providing a voice path to voice response unit 18. Although shown as a separate functional unit, voice path switch 16 may form part of voice response unit 18.
Voice response unit 18 is essentially an automated operator, taking the place of a human operator for initially establishing interactive data exchange between outside telephone apparatus 12 and at least one database 19 which may be included in the voice response unit 18 or included as part of one or more host system 22.
Upon establishing a voice link with outside telephone apparatus 12, voice response unit 18 plays a prerecorded message, prompting the user of outside telephone apparatus 12 to input selected information on the touchtone keypad or other similar mechanism associated with the outside telephone apparatus. Upon receipt of such telephone signals, voice response unit 18 converts the telephone signals to data signals. The voice response unit interprets the received telephone signals and initiates an appropriate response, such as connecting the call to an operator or requesting data from a database 19 or from host system 22.
In the case where the IVR desires to access a host system, the voice response unit 18 may access host 22 directly over signal path 25, or may assert control signals over data path 20, directing data controller 24 to establish a data signal path 28 between at least one host system 22 and the voice response unit 18. Voice response unit 18 then provides interactive data exchange between data base 19, at least one host system 22 and the outside telephone apparatus 12, converting incoming telephone signals into data signals, and providing human recognizable audio output signals in response to data signals received from the database or host system.
Upon receipt of selected telephone signals requesting transfer to an operator terminal or, based upon its own decisional criteria indicating such a transfer is required, voice response unit 18 directs voice path switch 16 to redirect voice data path 14 from connection with the voice response system to a connection with one of operator terminals 30, selected from a list of one or more available operator terminals which is kept by the voice response unit 18. Voice response unit 18 also directs data controller 24, by means of control signals over data path 20, to provide data path 21 to the selected operator terminal. In another embodiment, data controller 24 may be replaced by a multiposition mechanical switch, which is manually operated by an operator. Such a mechanical switch alternately connects an operator terminal 30 with voice response unit 18 and one or more host system 22.
Subsequently, the voice response unit 18 transfers, to the selected operator terminal 30, at least a portion of the transactional information it has stored in its transactional database 19. Such transactional information includes telephone signals received from outside telephone apparatus 12 as well as data received from host system 22. This information provides operator terminal 30 with a transactional history of what has occurred thus far during the interactive data exchange between the host system and the outside party. Accordingly, an operator at the selected operator terminal is immediately apprised of the prior history of the interactive data exchange as well as the nature of, and reason for, transfer of the call to the operator.
While this system does offer a number of advantages in terms of call center efficiency, it still suffers from at least one significant drawback. In particular, the system of the '981 Patent, like all prior known prior art voice response systems, is connected to the PBX in a manner such that all of the voice response system ports are defined as extensions on the PBX. In this manner, the data collected by the voice response system can be easily tied to a particular call.
The call center management system simply monitors the voice response system ports like it would monitor any other extension on the PBX. The call center management system is therefore notified when a call arrives on any voice response system port. The voice response system collects all the data and then transmits the data and the port to the call center management system at the appropriate time. The call center management system then ties the data with the call that is on the particular voice response system port/extension.
However, in a call center where the ports on a voice response unit are not defined as extensions on a PBX, when a call arrives at a voice response unit port, even if the voice response unit collects data and transmits the data and the port to the call center management system, the call center management system will not know about the call since it is not on a defined extension. Accordingly, what is needed is a voice response unit interface for correlating and associating data gathered by the voice response unit with a call regardless of the manner in which the voice response unit is connected to a call center management system.